Pakistan Begins Mourning, Burials After Taliban School Attack Kills 148

Burials have begun in the Pakistani region of Peshawar one day after a violent Taliban attack that left 148 victims dead, mostly children.

The city began its three days of mourning for the victims on Wednesday, coupled with prayer vigils, funerals and public gatherings to honor the dead. Of those who were killed, the majority are said to be in their teens and under.

The attack happened Tuesday when seven Taliban militants entered the Army Public School disguised as soldiers and began firing their weapons, reportedly indiscriminately at students and teachers present on campus. Two of the seven terrorists detonated suicide bombs, increasing the number of casualties within seconds.

Following Tuesday's attack, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif lifted the suspension of the death penalty in terrorism cases.

"The prime minister has approved abolishment of moratorium on the execution of death penalty in terrorism-related cases," an official from the prime minister's office said in a statement.

Local parents have expressed their suffering and anger to media outlets. Children, too are speaking out against the Taliban's brutal acts.

"We're not scared of you," 16-year-old Naba Mehdi, who attends a school nearby, told the Taliban in a quote to Reuters. "We will still study and fight for our freedom. This is our war."

The 16-year-old's mother added to the media outlet that she believes the Pakistani government should "Hang [members of the Taliban]. Hang them all without mercy."

Photos released from Tuesday's gruesome attack show school rooms ruined with explosions, pools of blood and bullets indenting the walls.